The Lost Secret of the Silver Sea

Chapter 28: Of Glitter, Rockets, Penguins, and a Chance to Walk on Waves

            They did attempt to work on a plan, but it was just as hard as they’d expected. With all of them relying on Kaelonne’s recounting of events and nothing to display just what they were going up against, they were stuck on trial and error. They didn’t give up, however, they just used their lost time to fit in even more lessons of the human world and other antics that seemed to be turning Alister’s hair greyer every day.

            The young royal continued to dutifully answer any and every question any of his – somehow pulled together- motley crew, as Nora reminded him every day. It was a little more exciting than he expected, a joy of talking crystals and work that didn’t come often as most researchers already knew what he was talking about.

            The small team, more often than not, spent late nights at the research centre. Alister looked a little overjoyed at the extra company, opening a couple rooms for them at the back of the Centre where the building faded into a large homey area overlooking the sea. They’d spent late nights surrounded by snack and papers, the odd tool or chemical scattered in an organized mess around a large conference room they’d commandeered.

            Kaelonne revelled in the idea of spending time with these people. More often than not, his heart pained him more then the healed wound on his leg at late night thoughts, torn between his obligation to home and the life he was building in the real world. The young royal did indeed want to help his people, to get home, but he was afraid that when the time came, he may also have to cut ties with the human race permanently. Back at home, Mermatians would be too nervous to sit the with prince, to hold a normal conversation without forcing some sort of proper language at him. He didn’t have a lot of ‘friends’, save for Eirian.

            Axel was just as crazy as he’d expected, he didn’t expect Madeline to join in. The bio-chemist had a classy way of handling things, she was always neat and looking ready to take on the world every day, so Kaelonne believe that he was in the right for being surprised when she was one the one who suggested blowing something up.

            It’d been a frustrating day, none of the designs that they’d tested was anywhere close to the frequency they needed, and Kaelonne felt as though he wasn’t able to contribute enough. It might have been the cumulation of late nights and spending hours at a time hunched over papers and equipment, but the young royal could feel the irritation embedded deep in his bones like a wayward spear.

            The two scientists and Nora found themselves outside the research centre that day, armed with various tools and chemicals, ready to either make a coffee or commit arson. They’d set up safely near the beach where the bright sun provided the best light and the sand prevented anything from setting on fire.

            “What exactly are you planning to do?” Kaelonne leaned over Axel sitting in the sand, his hands deep in a small combination of metal in the shape of a rocket. The mechanical engineer had a maniac grin, his face smudged from work earlier that day and his hair was a tangled mess in his hair tie.

            “Building an unconventional rocket!”

            “How…unconventional?” Nora looked up from where she was holding a couple of containers up for Madeline, the latter ripping tape with a matching maniac grin as her work partner. Kaelonne couldn’t help but feel a little worried, because if the most collected person of your group is willing to blow something up… well.

            “With me, I have ethylene glycol and a couple other glycol-based chemicals in one container,” Madeline raised the tape covered container the size of her hand with flourish before pointing to the other one Nora was holding, “And chlorine tablets in the other.”

            “What exactly is going to happen?” Kaelonne automatically takes the small, half-finished rocket carefully as Axel shoves it at him and pulls out a few more strips of aluminium.

            “Boom. We combine the two with pressure at one outlet.” The bio-chemist mimics something going upward, exploding and falling back down at a steep arc. “Well, two chambers really, one for the built up pressure and inevitable explosion, the other to get it off the ground first.”

            “And a little coloured powder and glitter to make everything a little more hectic.” Axel stands, sending sand everywhere. They assemble the entire rickety structure with more grace and enthusiasm than the work they’ve done at the lab, making Kealonne feel a little guilt of Alister still stuck inside with a desk full of paperwork.

            “How do we know if it works?” Nora uses the Mermatian as a shield. She was not scared by any means, Kaelonne had seen the woman deal with killer whales with hardly a twitch, but fiercely expressed something about a ‘glitter nightmare’. Madeline and Axel fiddled with the stand of the rocket, pulling out the latches that separated the chemicals before taking hasty steps back to their wayward shelter behind a coconut tree.

            Kaelonne and Nora jump as the small rocket launches itself into the air with a ‘pfffftt’ of fire. Scrambling to see it take hight easily. It explodes again with a ripping ‘bang’, scattering silver and gold shiny powder everywhere.

            All four of spent the next week washing glitter out of their hair, much to the humour of the others. That only lasted a day as the young royal learns how easy it is for sparkly annoyance to get everywhere.

            “Just throw the fish, they’ll catch it easy.” Alister shrugged with a smile as he watched Kaelonne lean a little closer to the penguin encloser of the Centre. The young royal knew he must look as though there were stars in his eyes, but he couldn’t help it, he’d never seen such creatures before. They were adorable.

            “Are you sure?” Kaelonne tilts his head, watching Nora out of the corner of his eye as she nudged the bucket closer to him with a grin. He grimaced as he took the cold, slimy creature from her hands, morning the shear amount of nerve endings humans seemed to have.

            “Yep, like this.” Nora tossed one in the general direction of the group, chuckling as they waddled over. “Usually, we toss all of them at once, but Alister and I voted that you get the chance to work with them.”

            “You didn’t have t-“

            “Come on researcher, do you really want to give up the chance to feed penguins to argue about this?” Nora had a point but he wasn’t going to let her have the glee, so he leaned forward and tossed the fish with a barely hidden smile. Lighting up as they shuffled closer to the walls of the encloser.

            “I’m on to see the dolphins next, would you like to come or do you want to stay here.” Alister’s back was hunched slightly from laugher as they shot him twin looks of complaint. “Okay, fine, you can check them later, try not to overfeed the penguins. I don’t want to have to explain why they look ready to roll down a hill faster then slide down it.”

            “Have fun with the dolphins!” They cheered simultaneously as the marine biologist stalked off with more chuckled and the mutterings of ‘kids’.

            “How old are you exactly?” Nora pulls him out of his musing as usual. He leaned back on his borrowed chair, turning away from his view of the sea.

            “Hmm?”

            “Your age, how old are you?” Kaelonne notes how everyone in the room seems to come to a stop, as if just questioning why they’d never thought to ask that question.

            “… Thirteen hundred years, give or take.” All sounds of shuffling come to a stop, the young royal was certain he’d be able to hear a pin drop on the carpeted floor.

            “I’m sorry, what?” Axel asks eloquently as usual, his face plaster with a strange look that was cross between genuinely questioning if he’d misheard and having tasted something sour unexpectedly.

            “How… long do Mermatians live?” Madeline asked softly, as if just realising there was an actual difference between her and the being siting just across from her.

            “Roughly fix to six thousand years.”

            “You’re… kidding.” Nora’s eyes were wide, slightly glowing from the light of the device in her hands.

            “No, but I assume from the amount of looks I’m getting, that’s not normal.” Kaelonne wondered why he’d never thought to question this, the fact they humans lived such a short time. Now he remembered one of the reasons his father told him of interations with humans.

            “Huh.” The room remains quite for some time, aside from the shuffling of papers and clinking of pens. Kaelonne sinks a little lower in his chair with a grim look directed to the sea.

            That evening, the young royal sits in the sand, far enough to be away from the research centre, close enough to avoid the high tide waves. His hands were in his lap, rubbing at dark spots left behind from his lack of scales. He stared at the water without really seeing it, arms stiff from the cold breeze.

            “The others told me what happened.” Hartley walks up beside him with a soft voice, not siting, just watching the waves, and coming of the night stars.

            “Nothing happened.”

            “Are you… okay?” Kaelonne huffed softly as he felt the human drop a jacket on his shoulder, shrugging it on with a quite word of gratitude. He finally sat down next to him with a small smile, spreading out what he’d brought with him in the sand in front of them.

            “I believe that I am.” The Mermatian poked at the warm thermos cup, the large back of marshmallows and a flashlight with a raised eyebrow at the human.

            “Then what’s bothering you?” He offers as a response, shrugging his shoulders and looking out to the sea again with a small smile.

            “Something my father said. ‘Don’t make friends with fish, they’d only break your heart’. I didn’t understand it at first, thinking he was talking about finding an intended or just working with the position I held, but I finally understood it years later.”

            “He really wasn’t talking about fish was he?”

            “No. Making with creatures with a much smaller life length is setting yourself up for heartbreak. One day they’re there, the next they they’re not.” Kaelonne accepts one of the thermos cups with a nod of thanks. “I just never considered adding humans to that list.”

            “Does it make a difference?”

            “A hundred years is not a lot of time.” Hartley seems to think on the Mermatian’s words carefully, leaving their thoughts drowned out by the sound of the crashing waves. The stars spread out above them like a blanket, offering a quiet comfort.

            “It’s not… but I think that’s the beauty of being human. We try to make the best of it.” Hartley smiled small and sad, staring up at the sky, “We live for the thrill, doing things that scare up, doing the things that we love, fighting for what we believe in. At least I believe we should try to, many have it harder, some have it easier. There are those that live by a code, to try and leave the world a little better then how he met it.”

            “I’ll outlive you.” Kaelonne whispers with a shaky voice, hands tight around the thermos cup.

            “Physically… but the memoires of us, all of us, will still be with you. That’s the fun of it, to live in the moment.”

            “I guess you’re right.” Kaelonne laughed wetly, not sure how to argue much more.

            “Come one.” Hartley stands with flourish, a grin on his face and a hand held out to him.

            “Wha-“The human pulls him to his feet with ease, tugging him gently down to the waves.

            “Live in the moment.”

            For the first time since he walked on land, he let his feet touch the water. It was cold, but it was comforting.